High On Gin could target stakes at Oaklawn

Trainer Carl Deville’s reputation for developing young talent could be traced to 2006, when Meadow Breeze upset the Grade 1 Matron at Belmont Park at 34-1. Fast forward 13 years and Deville’s barn is enjoying another banner year with its babies, sending out six individual 2-year-old winners led by High On Gin.

High On Gin has won stakes on turf and dirt, with her latest victory coming in the $100,000 My Trusty Cat at Delta Downs. It’s the same race Meadow Breeze won for the barn back in 2006. High On Gin closed for a 5 1/4-length win in the mile stakes late last month, and earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 70.

“She ran a big race,” Deville said. “She’s a versatile kind of filly. She’s run a good number on the grass and on the dirt.”

There are a number of next-race options in January for High On Gin, Deville said.

Deville said stakes races at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., will be high on the list because Jerry Caroom, who owns High On Gin, is a resident of Arkansas. Oaklawn has a strong program for 3-year-old fillies.

Caroom purchased High On Gin for $7,500 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company in June. The daughter of Fury Kapcori won her debut in a maiden special weight at Evangeline Downs in August, then came back and won both her two-turn and turf debut in the $60,000 Happy Ticket in September at Louisiana Downs.

“That’s pretty much her best race – two turns,” said Deville.

High On Gin is from the female family of Leave a Legacy, a four-time stakes winner who earned $537,540.

Deville’s stable is divided between Delta Downs and a training center in Louisiana, where he is developing a number of 2-year-olds. He is assisted by his daughter Chasey Deville. Other juvenile winners for the barn this year include offspring by Midshipman, Palace, and Tale of Ekati.